Sydnee
@sydmt.blacksky.app
Copy editor, SFF writer (FIYAH, Fireside, io9, Tor), SFWA/ACES member, has strong opinions about journalism ethics, covered in cat hair
(Website: shadesofsydnee.com)
(Website: shadesofsydnee.com)
Reposted by Sydnee
Oh, this snow is crazy.
January 25, 2026 at 6:41 PM
Oh, this snow is crazy.
Reposted by Sydnee
Something about the prevalence of sharing these feels like lynching postcards to me. Brutal final moments of someone’s life circulated forever.
And in the constant rush to share, sure some is for awareness, but a lot feels like people sharing a spectacle.
And in the constant rush to share, sure some is for awareness, but a lot feels like people sharing a spectacle.
FWIW I don’t just try to avoid videos of state murder because it’s traumatizing, I try to avoid them because these are human beings who lived human lives and I don’t want to identify them primarily with the single worst moment of those lives
January 24, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Something about the prevalence of sharing these feels like lynching postcards to me. Brutal final moments of someone’s life circulated forever.
And in the constant rush to share, sure some is for awareness, but a lot feels like people sharing a spectacle.
And in the constant rush to share, sure some is for awareness, but a lot feels like people sharing a spectacle.
This reminds me of an excellent review I read on this movie by Brooke Obie, which has this banger line in it:
“A loveless revolutionary is just a terrorist.”
blackgirlwatching.substack.com/p/one-battle...
“A loveless revolutionary is just a terrorist.”
blackgirlwatching.substack.com/p/one-battle...
January 22, 2026 at 3:27 PM
This reminds me of an excellent review I read on this movie by Brooke Obie, which has this banger line in it:
“A loveless revolutionary is just a terrorist.”
blackgirlwatching.substack.com/p/one-battle...
“A loveless revolutionary is just a terrorist.”
blackgirlwatching.substack.com/p/one-battle...
Every time I log into this website after a long hiatus I recognize why I needed the hiatus in the first place.
January 21, 2026 at 3:36 PM
Every time I log into this website after a long hiatus I recognize why I needed the hiatus in the first place.
Reposted by Sydnee
I found the ep in PLURIBUS where Carol--white, American--meets 5 non-white, non-American survivors of the hivemind off-putting, but in a way that made me curious to see where Gilligan was going. Now that I have, I wrote about how empire, privilege, genAI, & resistance converge in the show's subtext:
Resisting the Hivemind: Pluribus, Generative AI, and Empire - Reactor
While its creator tell us that Pluribus is not about advent of generative AI, it's difficult not to spot the many places where the fledgling tech and extraterrestrial hivemind overlap.
reactormag.com
January 14, 2026 at 6:53 PM
I found the ep in PLURIBUS where Carol--white, American--meets 5 non-white, non-American survivors of the hivemind off-putting, but in a way that made me curious to see where Gilligan was going. Now that I have, I wrote about how empire, privilege, genAI, & resistance converge in the show's subtext:
Reposted by Sydnee
I just donated to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, in case you want to do the same. www.ilcm.org/donate/
Donate to ILCM
Every dollar donated to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota goes to support our mission of providing the highest quality legal services, education, and advocacy to meet the needs of low-income immig...
www.ilcm.org
January 15, 2026 at 5:29 PM
I just donated to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, in case you want to do the same. www.ilcm.org/donate/
Reposted by Sydnee
[preparing to get screamed at] I think I officially don’t need to know if you’re mad that an article is paywalled. Perhaps that can be an Inside Thought
December 21, 2025 at 9:20 PM
[preparing to get screamed at] I think I officially don’t need to know if you’re mad that an article is paywalled. Perhaps that can be an Inside Thought
Reposted by Sydnee
Appreciate this piece from Marcus but the piece that’s missing from this essay is the fact that Kenyans and Indians are the primary content moderators or “clean up crew” for the commercially available AI data sets. So yes, he’s right to be upset at the implication but the next step is asking “why?”
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 18, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Appreciate this piece from Marcus but the piece that’s missing from this essay is the fact that Kenyans and Indians are the primary content moderators or “clean up crew” for the commercially available AI data sets. So yes, he’s right to be upset at the implication but the next step is asking “why?”
Reposted by Sydnee
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
I'm Kenyan. I Don't Write Like ChatGPT. ChatGPT Writes Like Me.
I'm calm. I'm calm. I promise.
marcusolang.substack.com
December 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
This is incredibly important. If you read one thing this week: marcusolang.substack.com/p/im-kenyan-...
Reposted by Sydnee
In her new essay for Speculative Insight, Donna Glee Williams explores the ways Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey really needs to be challenged. Listen to her explanation in this video, and then read the essay:
www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/hero-journey
www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/hero-journey
December 8, 2025 at 7:21 PM
In her new essay for Speculative Insight, Donna Glee Williams explores the ways Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey really needs to be challenged. Listen to her explanation in this video, and then read the essay:
www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/hero-journey
www.speculativeinsight.com/essays/hero-journey
Reposted by Sydnee
Reposted by Sydnee
This is one of my biggest personal gripes with modern media. Podcasts, personal newsletters, movies - everything is too long and not that interesting. Bring back editors and producers ffs.
I hate this new era we live in where nobody and nothing has an editor. Every 90 minute movie becomes a 10 hour streaming series and every 1500 word story becomes…Whatever the fuck this is.
December 11, 2025 at 5:36 AM
This is one of my biggest personal gripes with modern media. Podcasts, personal newsletters, movies - everything is too long and not that interesting. Bring back editors and producers ffs.
Oops...almost forgot to turn my work alarm back on...don't be like me
December 1, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Oops...almost forgot to turn my work alarm back on...don't be like me
It's unfortunately still Expedition 33 even though the endings make me want to write an angry thinkpiece.
Name your videogame of the year.
November 29, 2025 at 8:13 PM
It's unfortunately still Expedition 33 even though the endings make me want to write an angry thinkpiece.
I just think cheesecake is really great
November 29, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I just think cheesecake is really great
Reposted by Sydnee
Today is #CreatorDay2025 at Itch, which means they don't take their cut & the money goes to the creator. Great way to support indie artists!
Buy Clipped: kqwatson.itch.io/clipped
Buy over 70+ items in one fell swoop with the Creator Day Bundle!
itch.io/b/3410/creat...
Organized by @aimeecozza.com
Buy Clipped: kqwatson.itch.io/clipped
Buy over 70+ items in one fell swoop with the Creator Day Bundle!
itch.io/b/3410/creat...
Organized by @aimeecozza.com
November 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Today is #CreatorDay2025 at Itch, which means they don't take their cut & the money goes to the creator. Great way to support indie artists!
Buy Clipped: kqwatson.itch.io/clipped
Buy over 70+ items in one fell swoop with the Creator Day Bundle!
itch.io/b/3410/creat...
Organized by @aimeecozza.com
Buy Clipped: kqwatson.itch.io/clipped
Buy over 70+ items in one fell swoop with the Creator Day Bundle!
itch.io/b/3410/creat...
Organized by @aimeecozza.com
For no reason at all, I'm going to make a thread of artists who I think are Neat.
First is, of course, @gdbee.bsky.social, who has been making atmospheric and intimate portraits of Black women and girls for years. I just bought two prints from her and they look amazing: gdbee.store/products/fra...
First is, of course, @gdbee.bsky.social, who has been making atmospheric and intimate portraits of Black women and girls for years. I just bought two prints from her and they look amazing: gdbee.store/products/fra...
Fragmented yet Flawless
On soft photographic paper Cut and signed by hand Ships flat with an extra thick backing board inside a crystal clear sleeve. Dark brown border with blue/grey bezel **Metallic: Paper with a metallic s...
gdbee.store
November 28, 2025 at 7:35 PM
For no reason at all, I'm going to make a thread of artists who I think are Neat.
First is, of course, @gdbee.bsky.social, who has been making atmospheric and intimate portraits of Black women and girls for years. I just bought two prints from her and they look amazing: gdbee.store/products/fra...
First is, of course, @gdbee.bsky.social, who has been making atmospheric and intimate portraits of Black women and girls for years. I just bought two prints from her and they look amazing: gdbee.store/products/fra...
Reposted by Sydnee
My book is out and it’s about the power of archive and voice and my fellow fellows are dope as hell in it
nupress.northwestern.edu/978081014906...
nupress.northwestern.edu/978081014906...
November 27, 2025 at 1:14 AM
My book is out and it’s about the power of archive and voice and my fellow fellows are dope as hell in it
nupress.northwestern.edu/978081014906...
nupress.northwestern.edu/978081014906...
Reposted by Sydnee
it's funny how defensive folks are about something they loudly proclaim is totally morally fine. like why does the author have to agree with you too?
November 26, 2025 at 5:51 PM
it's funny how defensive folks are about something they loudly proclaim is totally morally fine. like why does the author have to agree with you too?
Reposted by Sydnee
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
November 17, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Editors have a really hard job, and the good ones can make something unreadable readable, and the great ones can make something unreadable into something good. But they're basically invisible, until someone tries to write without one.
Reposted by Sydnee
Crocodile Dance is a 2D/3D Animated Thriller about a Nigerian musician who must confront the curse of a Mami Wata to save her family.
Support us on @Kickstarter today! bit.ly/croc-dance-ks
Support us on @Kickstarter today! bit.ly/croc-dance-ks
November 14, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Crocodile Dance is a 2D/3D Animated Thriller about a Nigerian musician who must confront the curse of a Mami Wata to save her family.
Support us on @Kickstarter today! bit.ly/croc-dance-ks
Support us on @Kickstarter today! bit.ly/croc-dance-ks
Reposted by Sydnee
obviously this is bad, but it’s long been true of other countries we praise to the skies for their healthcare and a lot of progressive Americans don’t want to acknowledge that as a huge vector of oppression. there are a lot of places I couldn’t emigrate to even if I wanted bc they have BMI limits
Obesity's now on the list of considerations, as well as cancer, & mental health, that may result in denial of an immigrant visa.
"Those who suffer from these medical conditions could become a “public charge,” & drain the nation of its resources, the directive argued."
🧾 nypost.com/2025/11/10/u...
"Those who suffer from these medical conditions could become a “public charge,” & drain the nation of its resources, the directive argued."
🧾 nypost.com/2025/11/10/u...
State Department to allow denial of immigrant visas to those with health issues, including obesity
US State Department guidance could deny immigrant visas for health conditions like obesity.
nypost.com
November 12, 2025 at 3:01 AM
obviously this is bad, but it’s long been true of other countries we praise to the skies for their healthcare and a lot of progressive Americans don’t want to acknowledge that as a huge vector of oppression. there are a lot of places I couldn’t emigrate to even if I wanted bc they have BMI limits
Reposted by Sydnee
Nia Davenport ( @niadavenport.bsky.social ) is a great writer and friend whose young family just lost a husband and father. If you've loved her books or her presence in the writing community, and you can spare something, please contribute.
gofund.me/4299d5593
gofund.me/4299d5593
Donate to Support Nia and Her Children After Tragic Loss, organized by Lindsey Hart
Our hearts are with Nia, a beloved friend, author and advocate who has pou… Lindsey Hart needs your support for Support Nia and Her Children After Tragic Loss
gofund.me
November 10, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Nia Davenport ( @niadavenport.bsky.social ) is a great writer and friend whose young family just lost a husband and father. If you've loved her books or her presence in the writing community, and you can spare something, please contribute.
gofund.me/4299d5593
gofund.me/4299d5593
Reposted by Sydnee
Today's the deadline to register for @sfwa.org's fall online Nebula event, Quasar, which takes place November 15 and 16. If you took part in this year's Nebula Conference there's no cost to register. 1/ membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796
November 8, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Today's the deadline to register for @sfwa.org's fall online Nebula event, Quasar, which takes place November 15 and 16. If you took part in this year's Nebula Conference there's no cost to register. 1/ membership.sfwa.org/event-6301796
Hmm...I'm starting to wonder whether our relationship to photojournalism needs to change considering we live in a society where we're being watched at all times.
'Cause why do we need to see close-up photos of this man sobbing in order to care about people being disappeared off the street?
'Cause why do we need to see close-up photos of this man sobbing in order to care about people being disappeared off the street?
November 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Hmm...I'm starting to wonder whether our relationship to photojournalism needs to change considering we live in a society where we're being watched at all times.
'Cause why do we need to see close-up photos of this man sobbing in order to care about people being disappeared off the street?
'Cause why do we need to see close-up photos of this man sobbing in order to care about people being disappeared off the street?